- MEMBERS RECEIVE ACCESS TO:
- CIO Leadership Group
  CIO Leadership Task Force provides a unique forum for Chief Information Officers from the largest cities and counties in the U.S. to privately interact, both through an online collaboration site and in regular face-to-face meetings. It offers these leaders an on-going opportunity to share information and experiences, and to discussing IT challenges facing larger community jurisdictions.
- Digital Infrastructure
  Task Force
  The Digital Infrastructure Task Force is a collaborative networking group for government IT professionals. Through timely exchange of information and experiences, both online and through regular face to face meetings, municipal and regional government members help each other to make smarter technology decisions for their communities.
- Law Enforcement
  IT Task Force
  The Law Enforcement Task Force is a collaborative networking group for local law enforcement officials from across the nation. In online and regular face to face meetings, both sworn and civilian law enforcement officials come here to discuss technology trends, collaboration and information sharing opportunities within the local law enforcement community.
- Private Events
  and Webinars
- Exclusive White Papers
- JOIN:
- Public Sector
- Private Sector
Digital Communities Home
Introduction
Feature Articles
Local Government Events
Contact
Digital Communities Blogs
Digital Citizen Pulse
Broadband Nation
Web 2.0 Convergence
In the Trenches
International Beat
Notes from a City CIO
Intelligent Communities
MuniGov 2.0
Surveys and Awards
Digital Cities Survey
Digital Counties Survey
DGAA Awards
Best of the Web Awards
Reference and
Resource Library
White Papers
Exclusives
Webinars
Best Practices
Digital Communities
Special Focus
Current Issue
Past Issues
Subscribe

Digital Communities
Industry Members

Click sponsor logos for whitepapers, case studies, and best practices.

SaaS Aids IT Project Management in Washington

September 13, 2009 By Andy Opsahl

Prioritizing IT projects proposed by various agencies within a local government sometimes can make IT leaders into villains -- especially by the agencies assigned lower spots in the pecking order.

But the IT staff in Tacoma, Wash., found a way to avoid that trap. They deployed "on-demand IT governance" software to automate the analysis of what the city's IT staff could realistically finish over the course of a month. Based on that analysis, agency representatives then vote each month on the Tacoma IT Department's priorities. This enables IT priorities to come from the end-users themselves, rather than what could be construed as arbitrary judgments of IT officials.

"We're making decisions based on facts and data as opposed to emotion and organizational norms," said Bradd Busick, manager of change management for Tacoma.

Each month, after agencies electronically submit their project requests, the city's IT staff enter the project descriptions into software from Innotas. The software analyzes how labor intensive each project is in relation to the city's limited IT resources. The software then gives order-of-priority options on which the agencies vote. For example, the software might report that if the city made a Human Resources Department project its No.1 priority, the IT staff would only have enough workers and time remaining to also complete the water department's project that month.

By contrast, if agencies voted to push the HR project to the following month, IT employees would have enough time and resources to complete five other projects that aren't as time consuming during the month at hand. The HR representative would need to make a strong case to the other departments that his or her department's project was worth putting off other departments' priorities until the following month. IT employees sit relaxed on the sidelines and use the set of priorities the vote produces. If agencies decide later that they don't like the list of priorities, they have their own judgment to blame, not that of the IT staff.

View Full Story

| More

Comments

Add Your Comment

Name *

Comment *

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. We reserve the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

In Our Library

White Papers | Exclusives Reports | Webinar Archives | Best Practices and Case Studies

Identity and Access Management Considerations: Gain insight into enterprise identity and access management (IAM) trends and a unified approach that can simplify identity and access management before, during, and after your organization implements cloud-based services.
Document Driven Process Automation and Human Services: By the Center for Digital Government

Read this Center for Digital Government issue to find out how document-driven process automation can drastically accelerate workflow in state and local government human services agencies.
Using Wireless Technology to Manage and Optimize Government Fleets: Saving Money, Generating Revenues, and Increasing Safety: Using Wireless Technology to Manage and Optimize Government Fleets: Saving Money, Generating Revenues, and Increasing Safety. The paper discusses the challenges federal, state and local government agencies currently face with their government fleets; how mobile technology can help; considerations when selecting a mobile solutions partner; and the benefits of choosing Sprint. Specifically, Frost & Sullivan highlights Sprint’s fleet expertise, its powerful networks, and advanced partnerships that work in concert to provide government fleets with the ability to: Save money, Generate new revenues, Enhance safety, Help the environment, Increase the availability and transparency of information to the public

Latest From Digital Communities Features

Follow @dcommunities

RSS

Law Enforcement Digital Infrastructure

Digital Communities members get access to our collaboration task forces

427 Members

77 Discussions

84 Files

Latest members Become a member

Digital Communities members get access to our collaboration task forces

669 Members

145 Discussions

150 Files

Latest members Become a member

Featured White Papers & Reports

CIOs Redefine Local Government and Industry Relations

Based off of discussions of the Digital Communities Large Jurisdiction Chief Information Officer (CIO) Working Group, this white paper aims to answer the question, "In today's economic, political and business environment, what constitutes a successful relationship between government and industry?" Cause for Optimism identifies and clarifies the issues that separate government and industry, and begins to find an answer to the question necessary for both to enjoy a successful and prosperous future.

View Full Library

Events

GTC East

Don't miss this opportunity to see the latest in digital government solutions, keep abreast of current policy issues and network with key government executives, technologists and industry specialists.

View All Events